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As human beings, we often find creative ways to let ourselves off the hook in the face of adversity. Sometimes it’s a conscious effort, and other times folks don’t even realize they are doing it. As a coach, I see this all the time. Rather than demean this practice and those guilty of it, I think the best thing we can do is shine light on it and bring awareness to the subject.

Dana crushing cancer this past weekend.

Straight up, this stuff we do is hard. Changing your own life, building measurable strength, losing weight, growing your work capacity…it’s all hard. Anytime we set out to achieve any of these types of things we know it’s difficult, but at least we think we can do it or we wouldn’t start it in the first place.

There’s a moment, however, in this process where sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel doesn’t shine as bright as it once did. ENTER: your “out.”

It’s in times of doubt that we naturally look for ways out of the situation. In a situation like ours on the bluff, it’s not too hard. All you’ve got to do is stop showing up. However, being perceived as a quitter isn’t so desirable, so we naturally look for ways to:

Justify quitting.

Make it seem like it isn’t quitting at all.

Here’s where folks let themselves of the hook. Have you ever heard someone justify their waining commitment to the training that used to be so important to them with things like their busy schedule, change of heart, other people in the program, training ideology, etc? There’s always, always, always a choice to be made about your health and fitness, for or against it. Choosing for or against your health, in my opinion, always has honor if in fact it’s genuine. My gripe is when folks displace that choice on someone or something else. The moment you claim you’re committed if only it weren’t for your boss, the alignment of the stars, your car’s transmission, or your elbow tendinitis, the honor is lost and you’ve claimed an “out,” in my opinion.

I’m not disillusioned into thinking that everyone should train like a madman always, with no breaks, until forever– at the bluffs no less. However, when folks choose to stray from nutrition and training habits, they almost never say, “I don’t wish to continue because my health isn’t as important to me anymore.” They rarely ever own it, and there in lies the problem. It’s all too often something else. That something else, is an “out.”

What folks that grant themselves an out from the program don’t realize is that given our community structure and off the floor coaching, the only thing that can come between you and your participation in this fitness school is their own choice. So, before you grant yourself an “out” in this program consider what’s available to you with communication, priority, and choice.

Being intentional about maintaining our health -- body and mind-- is an everyday task. Our food, water, vitamins, and supplements all come from somewhere, and we must be mindful of how it got there and who put it there. Having knowledge and being able to trace where your fuel comes from gives a peace of mind and great sense ...

Training for a 5K, triathlon, or marathon? Want to suck less wind during workouts? Or, do you just enjoy longer time domain sports? We are proud to announce the start of the FFOTB Endurance program. With that comes an announcement of a new coach. Like we've said in the past, we are a community-based fitness school and our l ...

Tomorrow we will join our friends at DogTown CrossFit for their annual fundraiser, Crush Cancer. This is the first year that we've participated, and it's been an incredible success. I'd like to thank the following members of "The Nation" and our extended family for their generous support of the event:The layout for Crush Ca ...

Ah, control. Everybody wants it, don't they? Can you blame them? I think we can all relate to the desire to have some control. Heck, much of this rat race is full of variables and unknowns that can make the most sane of us falter. Well, let me in on a little secret..You can have control. There's one caveat, however, and tha ...

This is the last installment of the Core Values of FFOTB. When we constructed these, integrity was the first, and the most important of these values. I went in reverse order hoping that readership would be most elevated by the time integrity, our most valued principle, came to the blog.
--Lean.Integrity runs exactly para ...

Do you ever notice how things go when you’re on a roll with your training? You’re unstoppable. Minor hiccups in your day cannot stand in between you and getting to class. No way! Dentist appointment? Time might be tight, but no problem. If the choice is to hit the snooze button, or get to class.. you're ready come warm ...

"I'm not concerned with your liking or disliking me... All I ask is that you respect me as a human being." - Jackie RobinsonI love this quote. Jackie Robinson was a person who exemplified this to no end. He was the first black baseball player to break the color barrier in Major League Baseball in 1947. It was a ...

It was a family affair this past weekend in Phoenix, AZ as we combined forces with CrossFit LA in a road trip of fitness and fun. With familiar faces participating in a multitude of capacities from competing to spectating and supporting, the event was a blast. Much like class, though intimidating, the competition supported ...

-Saturday Class Cancelled for the Competition in Phoenix-
What's odd to me, as a coach and as an athlete, is the population of folks that are willing to take on grueling exercise, and even take on surgery (yes, surgery) to achieve certain body composition, but won't tackle their nutrition. The idea that some people w ...